Video Review: Robbie Williams “Angels (US Version)”

Smoke the from the sewers clouds the buildings. Lightning flares against the top floors of the apartment building amid the police sirens. Robbie Williams wakes up and rubs the left side of his face. He sits up in bed, running his hands from over his head to his chin, shell-shocked by his loneliness once again. He turns towards the turntable and puts the needle on the record. He sits back in bed, his hands folded as though in prayer, rocking back and forth.

After listening to music, he gets dressed and lifts up the window, stepping over the windowsill onto the balcony. He finds his coat and then climbs up to the roof. Below, he sees several homeless men sleeping by a closed store. One man grips his empty liquor bottle.

He walks along the ledge, spreading his arms out. Standing at a car are three women, talking. A cab driver sleeps in his car while a man sleeps in a phone booth.

A woman, in her bra and panties, leans her body against the window, her fingers gracing the screen. She returns to bed where a man kisses her on the neck. He continues to kiss her shoulder but she pulls his hand away. She walks back to the window.

Two women watch him on the ledge, concerned he may jump. The cab driver wakes up and stares at the windshield wipers moving on the windows. A young mother, with a crying baby, watches him from the sidewalk.

The two women dance in the street. A crowd of people join them. The homeless men wake up and are captivated by Williams. The cab driver gets out of his car to get a better look at him. He hugs his jacket close to his chest.

The next day, he crosses the street with a smile. He has survived another day.

Rating: 4.5/5

Spreading his arms out on the ledge, breathing the damp air, Robbie Williams searches for redemption. As he walks the ledge, he has no intention of jumping it. However, the adrenaline from knowing one wrong step could end it invigorates him and in it, he finds salvation.

The onlookers wait for the inevitable. The cab driver thinks he’s a spectacle. The two women are edge, anxious but soon get bored by it. The man in the telephone booth seems as though he has found someone who understands. However, the homeless men do not judge. With their worn faces, they plead and try to offer some guidance.

Although guilt may be haunting Williams, it’s his ex-girlfriend who has become anesthetized. Another man kisses her and she lies there motionless, closing her eyes out of habit. She gazes out the window, seeking answers. However, both are seeking an emotional release through reckless behavior.

But there is hope for Williams. He seems to have found some sort of peace. The grateful smile at the end to himself, though, thanks the strangers who saved him.